Alive
by S. Mark Gunther
Summary: Mousse faces more changes. Nabiki becomes an enemy. Things get difficult..... (Chapter 4 Now Finished! I'm on a roll!)
1. Someone's Leaving, Someone's Drinking...

Alive  
By S. Mark Gunther  
  
Mousse looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Another day, another 24 hours of chasing Shampoo. Nothing changed, especially considering the iceberg of a man that was Ranma Saotome never seemed to take anything seriously. His head throbbed from the long night at work. The pain seemed to rise up into his temples and swell across his forehead. It was a rough night.  
  
All throughout the night he had dreamt that Shampoo was on the other side of a chasm and the chasm seemed to be wider then he could jump. Time and time again he would jump towards her and miss. And every time he missed and fell down into the valley, he'd climb back up and try it again. On and on this went in his dreams till he awoke with a shudder and a start. As he reflected on this a groan escaped his lips and floated to the ceiling like a warm wind.  
  
He groped for his glasses on the small dresser beside his bed and slipped them on, smoothing his hair over his ears and rising up in his bed. The morning sunlight poured into the small room he lived in making him squint and try to focus. Senses in his body seared in the warmth of the new day and he could feel an overwhelming sense of optimism flow all over him. A smile crossed his lips and he slowly rose to his feet to begin the new day.  
  
Slipping into a pair of work pants and a short shirt, he left his room and walked through the upstairs hallway, listening out for the normal sounds of the morning's work that he always heard. But oddly, there was nothing but the birds outside the windows singing and the gentle bowing and creaking of the house at rest. His feet carried him down the stairs and he saw the eastern sun shining through the windows. A shadow cast itself across the face of the wall clock and he had to squint to see it's time. 8:30.  
  
'It's 8.30 and there is no one up and doing things here in the restaurant? Strange...' Mousse thought as he crossed over to the door and looked out of the drawn window shade. No one seemed to be standing outside the Nekohanten waiting to be served so Mousse opened the door and looked to see what was going on. As he opened the door, he could see a piece of paper attached to the door itself. He read it slowly, his foggy brain still not comprehending everything that was going on. ''Temporarily Closed'? What is this?' he thought as he ran back inside and up the stairs. "Cologne? Shampoo?! Is anyone here?!" he called out.  
  
No one answered him as he turned the knob on Cologne's room. Surprisingly it opened and showed Mousse an empty room. Save the dresser, bed and table that were already there everything was gone from the room. Nothing was left. He hurried out of Cologne room and went next door to shampoo's room. Again, nothing there and no one there to yell at him. He wandered back downstairs in a deep fog. He proceeded over to the dining room and found no one there as well.  
  
'What is going on?' he wondered as he looked around the quiet restaurant. As he scanned the room, his eyes caught sight of a manila envelope on the counter next to the cash register. He walked to it and picked it up, his hands involuntarily beginning to shake a little. He looked inside the envelope and saw many official looking pieces of paper, and a handwritten sheet of paper on the top. He took out the hand written sheet and began to read.  
  
***  
Mousse,  
  
If you are reading this letter, you have no doubt realized that Shampoo and I are gone. I...I have been defeated in this game of wills and my great great granddaughter has been shamed long enough by Ranma Saotome and his family. Shampoo's skills have eroded to the point that even if she were to marry Ranma, she would have never become the warrior I need her to be. In short, I have given up for the sake of the tribe. My influence is weakening in the tribe and I need her to carry on our line of influence.  
  
Using the help of Nabiki Tendo, we have found a loophole in the Amazon laws and have proceeded to annul the marriage to Ranma Saotome. Shampoo and I are going to the village to finalize the proceedings and re-install my great granddaughter into the Amazon tribe as a single woman. What does this mean to you, Mousse?  
  
For starters, it means you are no longer a part of the Amazon tribes. Under my power as an elder of the Amazon tribes I am hereby banishing you from the tribe forever. Your sister, Eyeshadow will become the family redeemer and your mother will become her assignor to the council. I have left the papers to the Nekohanten and the money and equipment to you. You may do what you wish with the restaurant but I suggest you keep it and work there to make your own way in the world. Nabiki Tendo will handle all the business affairs for you if you chose to do so...for a fee.  
  
Why have I done this, you may ask?  
  
I have done this because you, Mousse, are not worthy to be a part of the Amazon tribes. You have brought dishonor on your family line time and time again by your schemes and for breaking your pact with your teacher, Lotion. You have pursued my great-granddaughter to the ends of the earth and assisting in making it impossible for her to fulfill her duties as an Amazon. At one time, you showed promise to eventually defeat my Shampoo and become her husband but you let your desires cloud your vision. You are no longer a defender of the tribe. You are not a man.  
  
It is with my hope that this will force you to deal with your obsessions and regain the small part of you I respected. You were once far better then you are now, Mousse. One can only hope that this will force you to straighten up and fly right.  
  
Cologne"  
***  
  
As he finished reading the letter, his eyes began to fill with tears and unspoken emotions. He calmly put the letter back into the envelope and shook back as many tears from his eyes as possible. Stumbling, he rose and went to the panty. There, in a deep shelf, he found the one thing that could satisfy him in this time of extreme pain. His heart shattered into a thousand pieces as he grabbed the bottle of Sake from the cabinet and a glass. Slowly the boy proceeded back to the counter and sat back down. The tears flowed fast from his eyes now as he uncapped the bottle and poured a large amount of the potent liquid into it. As he took his first sip, his tears came down in full force as an emotional dam broke in his heart.  
  
Mousse, for the first time in his life, was well and truly alone.  
  
-----  
  
Nabiki Tendo walked up the street towards the Nekohanten. Her hands idly held a small notebook and purse as she walked. She reached the door and knocked on it, her feet tired from the day of collecting money and managing her business. At first no one answered the door but she persisted. A low voice rumbled from the inside of the Nekohanten, "Who...who is it?"  
  
"It's Nabiki Tendo. Mousse, is that you?" Nabiki called out, her eyes scanning the door and the note attached to it. A few seconds passed and then the door opened slowly. Nabiki watched as Mousse appeared in front of her as he opened the door. His eyes were bloodshot and darkened; his shirt was stained and spotted. His whole body looked tired and beaten down. "Mousse, are you alright?"  
  
"No. Please leave." Mousse attempted to close the door but was stopped as Nabiki stepped into the doorway. "I...I have nothing to say to you," he said, his voice thick with alcohol.  
  
"But I have things to say to you. Like why I helped Shampoo to leave. And why I'm now going to be helping you. I don't think you have a reason to stop me from coming in," Nabiki replied firmly. "Please Mousse."  
  
"...Alright. Please come in." Mousse stepped back and walked to the countertop where he had been sitting for the last 8 hours. Nabiki followed and noticed that the entire restaurant seemed in order, save the bottle on the countertop and the glass that Mousse gripped in his hand. She sat beside him and looked at the orderly pile in front of him.  
  
"I see you've been drinking."  
  
"Yes. Since this morning when I read the letter from Shampoo." Mousse said softly as he put his glass back down and sighed softly. "Why did you do it, Nabiki? Why did you ruin any chance I may have had to win her heart?"  
  
"Because I wanted to solve some problems for my sister. Contrary to popular belief, I actually want Ranma and Akane to get married. And this was a way for me to give them a fighting chance at that," Nabiki replied calmly as she took the glass out of Mousse's reach and twirled it softly on the Formica. "And to be honest, I was tired of Shampoo destroying our house. She smashed through it too many times to mention when she just couldn't understand that Ranma was never going to love her."  
  
"So I was nothing but an unfortunate victim of this, Nabiki?" Mousse replied softly, his voice deadly calm despite the large amounts of alcohol in his system. "Who do you think you are to hurt me like this?"  
  
"I don't know who I am and I don't know who you are, Mousse. That is part of the reason why I did this." Nabiki turned and looked at the boy for a moment before continuing. "Mousse, Shampoo doesn't love you. She never did and she never will. She told me this when we were looking for a way for her to annul her engagement to Ranma. She doesn't even like you like a friend anymore. So I decided to help her and you out."  
  
"I didn't ask you to do that." Mousse reached for the bottle and took a drink from it, his face grimacing slightly as the liquid went down his throat. "I didn't ask you to ruin my life, and I don't feel like I should be nice to you considering you've taken my life in your hands." His gaze turned upon Nabiki's and was shocked to see concern on her face. 'Why does she look like that?' he thought.  
  
"And you weren't ruining your own life by fawning over Shampoo, Mousse?" Nabiki asked, her voice surprisingly flat."Seems to me that you're just mad because your obsessions are gone."  
  
"...Just leave, Nabiki." Mousse said after a long moment's reflection. He turned his head away and gazed out into the kitchen area. His eyes seemed locked on the pots and pans that hung above the main working area. "All you can do now is make me angry. You've done enough to my heart and me for one damn day. Just go."  
  
Nabiki began to say something but then stopped, her lips pursing into a tight seam. She rose out of her seat and walked to the door. As she reached the door, she stopped and turned. Her eyes caught a sight of the defeated Chinese boy, still slumped over the bottle he had been drinking from. "You know Mousse, I almost assumed you were stronger then this. But you're nothing but a quitter. You're worse then Ranma could ever be. Shampoo should be glad she doesn't have to deal with a failure like you anymore." Her voice cracked slightly as she finished her statement, but she held her emotions fast and left the Nekohanten.  
  
Mousse could feel his heart beginning to harden more and more as the room began to lapse back into the loud silence that he had heard all day. His hand gripped the bottle strongly; his eyes stared off into the distance. Then, with a solemn movement, he got up and moved towards the kitchen. Before he left he grabbed the bottle and the glass. Slinking slowly to the kitchen, he placed the bottle and the glass in the sink. Wobbly, yet determined, he walked back to the counter and placed the papers he had received back into the manila envelope. He could feel his feet carrying him to the door, his steps heavy and slow. Slowly he turned the knob and left the small restaurant, locking the door behind him as he went.  
  
With that, he started walking towards the one place he knew he could go to settle this newfound set of issues he had.  
  
-----  
  
Nabiki Tendo approached her house and saw Ranma Saotome fly out of the door, his feet carrying him away from the dojo as fast as humanly possible. Nabiki could hear his screaming from nearly a quarter mile away from the house, and as she got closer and saw him running by her only one thing could she discern from Ranma's screaming:  
  
"UN-CUTE TOMBOY!!!!!!!!!"  
  
He roared by her, the wind flipping up her skirt and showing off her trim legs to the cats and dogs that lay in the street paralyzed by Ranma's screaming. She smoothed her skirt and approached the house, only to see Akane come out, her mallet in hand and her anger evident from a mile away.  
  
"JERK!!!!!!" She screamed over and over, her voice causing the previously paralyzed dogs and cats to writhe in another shockwave of pain.  
  
"What's going on?" Nabiki asked as she reached over and took the mallet out of Akane's hands.  
  
"...Wouldn't. Even. Taste. It." was all Akane could mutter as she stormed back into the house. Nabiki sighed and dropped the surprisingly heavy hammer to the ground as she walked into the house. As she came in, she could see the house was in shambles. Splatters of organic looking material, food, dishes and other assorted culinary items were strewn around the walls of the room. A shocked and ashen Soun Tendo sat with Genma Saotome, their shogi board covered in miso soup and an unidentified organism that looked almost human. Kasumi stood in the doorway to the kitchen, her head shaking slightly.  
  
"Let me guess. Akane tried to cook again." Nabiki said tiredly, her eyes scanning for a place to sit and not stain her clothes. She found it and sat at the one spot at the table that wasn't covered with food.  
  
"Not cook. Create new life from beef stew." Kasumi said with a smile, her own eyes looking tired. She sat across from Nabiki, her hands wiping up a bit of soup with a rag before she sat. "I left for the market and by the time I got back, Akane had taken over the kitchen. I could do very little as she had the kind of eyes that told me she was determined to do something. I had hoped she would succeed for once."  
  
"Well, it looks like she succeeded in creating something. And in scaring Ranma off." Nabiki said lightly, primly folding her hands into her lap. For a moment, neither Tendo daughter spoke and all was quiet in the house. Nabiki could see the lines of age beginning to creep up on Kasumi's face and it concerned her. She was still young, only 20, and yet she already took the look of a far older woman. Nabiki didn't like the idea that her sister was growing too old before her time.  
  
A knock on the door made both of their heads turn. Nabiki rose and walked to the door, a growing sense of concern beginning to creep up on her neck. She opened the door and gasped slightly as she saw a dark-eyed and very angry looking Mousse standing there. In his right hand was a long dagger and in his left were three blades that looked suspiciously like the blades to his wings. "May I come in, Nabiki?" he said softly, his voice thick with drink. The middle Tendo sister merely nodded and showed the Amazon male in.  
  
Mousse sat down on the floor next to the table and placed both the blades and the dagger on the food-stained top, looking over at the sisters as they regained their seats. "I apologize for coming here unannounced, but I need to say some things to both of you," Mousse said slowly.  
  
"It's alright Mousse," Kasumi replied cheerfully, her face and voice back to their normal buoyancy and brightness. "We were just observing Akane's latest cooking experiment."  
  
"Keyword on experiment," Nabiki chimed in, looking more and more like her normal self with every passing second.  
  
"Whatever," Mousse said shortly, his hand reaching into his breast pocket, retrieving the manila envelope he had received before. "This envelope is the only thing that will assure me of my future and you have seen all of it, Nabiki." He laid it down on the only dry area on the table and looked at the middle Tendo daughter with a cold expression. "I have thought about what Cologne and Shampoo and you have done to me and I've come up with a solution."  
  
"Which is?" Nabiki asked, her eyebrow rising just slightly.  
  
"You will assist me in becoming a partner with Ukyou in her restaurant and we will build both restaurants up into one unified project. The earning split will 85 percent to Ukyou and I with she and I splitting the money equally and 15 percent to you. You will also receive a residual payment upon the sale of the Nekohanten, which you will assist in. You will help me enroll at Furnikan High school so I can obtain my high school diploma. I know the immigration service will eventually look at me for deportation so you will get them the hell off my back.  
  
"And finally, you will allow me to take Akane under my wing for one week of intense cooking training at the new restaurant while she is on break. I am sick and tired of Ranma and Akane's fights over food and I feel that if they are destined to marry, she should be able to cook. I will teach her the way I was taught. Roughly." Mousse paused and took a deep breath, his voice ragged from the many hours of drinking. "As much as I hate you Nabiki, I'm swallowing my pride in coming to you. You've decided to intertwine yourself in my life. Now I'm going to make sure you and I are intertwined for good because if I go down in flames I'm sure as hell going to take you with me."  
  
"What makes you think you're in a position to make terms like that to me, Mousse," Nabiki said coldly, her mind shifting back into businesswoman mode.  
  
"The sheer fact that you must be poorer then usual to do something this heinous to me. You ruined my life, Nabiki," Mousse replied darkly. "I should be destroying this house and everyone in it for your act against me. But I'm not because I took a long time to think after you left. I'm no quitter and I'm not a failure. I'm going to prove it to you and everyone else here by using you to get what I want." His face was pale and flushed but he soldiered on in his words. "You know I will do it if you refuse. And remember, we're talking about a very profitable deal here. Steady, guilt-free money for your family on the back of someone you violated. It's an offer I don't think you can refuse."  
  
"I'll have to think on it..." Nabiki started, but was cut off as she looked at Mousse's face. His eyes burned laser beams into hers and she paralyzed for a moment. His sheer anger seemed to radiate off of him brighter then any of Ranma's energy fields.  
  
"You have 60 seconds to decide. Otherwise, I start breaking windows and glasses here. And anyone who gets in my way will be hurt." Mousse said calmly, his anger beginning to crystallize into something more then rage.  
  
Nabiki could see the futility in trying to resist and she nodded her head slowly. "Yes. I accept your terms Mousse. Please excuse me while I get some paper and a pen to outline this arrangement."  
  
"No," Mousse said softly, "fix me a place to sleep. I'm staying here for the night after I help Kasumi clean this mess."  
  
"Why are you staying with us, Mousse?" Kasumi asked softly.  
  
"Because I'm so hung over I cannot make it back to my house safely. I have just enough energy and strength to help you clean up this mess and then drag myself into bed. Please do this for me." Mousse hung his head slightly, his whole body collapsing under the weight of his heart. The anger broken, all he could feel now was a sense of great loss and mourn. He looked up as he felt Nabiki's hand on his shoulder.  
  
"You don't have to help us clean Mousse. I'll fix you a place in the attic." She smiled a little, her own mind beginning to formulate a new plan to work this deal around to her advantage. "I'll be back to show you to your bed."  
  
"Thank you." As Nabiki left, Mousse could feel Kasumi's eyes on his body and he turned to her with a smile. "Is there anything you'd like to ask me Nabiki?"  
  
"Why did you come here and do this?" Kasumi asked, her voice dropping slightly, her face losing its smile.  
  
"Because Nabiki interfered with my life and didn't think a damn about it. I figure turnabout is truly fair play. All I can do now is start over. And if she broke me down she will damn sure help me get back to something." Mousse sighed and shuddered slightly. "Although, I'm not even sure if I can be angry with her much longer."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because she saved me. As much as I hate to admit it, she's right. Shampoo never loved me, nor would she. I was obsessing myself with someone who for all intensive purposes could only be my friend. Something had to give." Mousse paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "It's like seeing you're past life in a grave as you're walking into another world. I just wish Nabiki hadn't decided to take the role of death."  
  
"Did you ever assume she was doing it for more then just money? Or the idea of tormenting you?" Kasumi asked, her voice mature and slow, almost like a mother's.  
  
"...No."  
  
"Then listen to me." Kasumi moved over next to Mousse and took his hand in hers. "I talked with Nabiki about this and we both agreed that this had to be done. Ranma and Akane are going to be married because we need someone to carry our family name forward. I will probably be here all my life and Nabiki has a bright future ahead of her. That leaves Ranma and Akane. They are the only ones who can bring this forward. Everyone else in the way must acquiesce, one way or another."  
  
"...So you're going to pair them together whether they like it or not, shrugging aside anyone else who might have even partially legitimate claims to their hearts?" Mousse asked, his voice cracking slightly.  
  
"Our fathers made this mistake before we had a say. We cannot stop their wishes; only try to mend as many seams as possible while keeping this one intact. It is the honorable thing to do." Kasumi could feel the scorn and anger rising into her hand from Mousse's body, but just as she steeled herself against the storm of his anger it dissipated. All of a sudden he collapsed forward into her lap, his head resting against her stomach, his body cradled lightly in her body. She gasped but softened after a moment of hearing his sobbing.  
  
"So for...your...family's honor...you destroyed me??" he sobbed lowly, his head burying itself deeper into her tummy. She quickly wrapped her arms around the boy and began to hold him close. Moments passed and the two sat there, Kasumi holding the boy like a mother and Mousse weeping out his final bit of anger. "I tried...so hard...so fucking hard...why couldn't she love me? Why?" His voice, ragged and torn with the tears, barreled out his mouth and he clung tight to Kasumi involuntarily.  
  
"It's alright Mousse. I'm here for you. Just let go of it all," Kasumi murmured softly as she stroked Mousse's hair and held him in her lap. All her motherly instincts came out of her in the moment and she began to exude warmth from her grip on his body. Mousse clung to Kasumi like a son crying to his mother after his first fight, her warmth and sanctuary bringing him in.  
  
"Why did you do this to me? Why did you? Why..." Mousse murmured softly, his crying beginning to slow down as his body began to fade out of consciousness. The room began to spin, his head began to swim, and his vision became even blurrier...  
  
-----  
  
Mousse awoke with a start, and then a groan as the pain of a massive hangover began to sweep over him. It was dark. The bed he laid on was soft, softer then he expected. He looked down and saw the sheets of the bed. They were soft, girlish looking. He rolled his head over and saw the content face of Kasumi lying next to him. Her clothing was still on, but her breathing was slow and sure. She seemed so peaceful. Mousse began to blanche over with fear.  
  
'I can't believe this is happening', he thought quietly as another shot of pain rifled through him like a freight train. A silent groan from his lips caused a murmuring from Kasumi's lips. She clutched at his arm in her sleep, her eyes scrunching tightly. He leaned over with a great effort and kissed the top of her forehead. As he touched her forehead, she smiled slightly and seemed to relax again. Mousse felt his head sink back to the pillow. As sleep overtook him he could feel his body begin to sink back into the warm watery feeling he had been living in. It was not altogether a bad feeling. 


	2. The Emergence Of Mousse

Nabiki found herself looking in the mirror above her dresser. The low, the images blurred and out of focus in her eyes as she cried. She winced away her tears as best she could and turned back to her bed. Never had she felt so helpless against the tide, never had her feelings of helplessness overtaken her. She could feel her demons coming back, demons that she had long thought she had exorcised from her mind. She could hear the little voices whispering into her head again.  
  
She felt her body fall into the soft bed, her tired bones aching for release. All the while she could only think of her problems and the money involved behind them. She missed a mother, her mother, and the joy of being able to merely be. She saw Kasumi's face in her eyes as she watched the eldest Tendou daughter carry him to bed. She saw the joy in her eyes, the fulfillment in her face. She wanted that look but she couldn't be Kasumi.  
  
All at once, she felt her head begin to drift. Her eyes became blurry once again but only because of her exhaustion. Nabiki's day had finally come to a close.  
  
-----  
  
Mousse woke up the next morning feeling horrible. His eyes were red and puffy, his hands cold and shaky. He looked over and saw Kasumi's spot empty. And then he threw up. All over the side of the bed. Hard. Fast. Repeatedly. The vomit didn't stop, not when he tried to hold it back, not when he let it all go. It just seemed to flow out of him. The anger in his heart, the frustration in his nerve, the water and sake in his gullet; all of it seemed to flow out of him like a river and he fell back drained.  
  
The room spun in his eyes. Mousse was sure that this was what it was to be close to the end. And then...it stopped. It just stopped. A calm sense of self washed over him and he sat up. The headache that remained was evident but not enough to hinder his progress. He felt better. The sun warmed the room and made it able to be inhabited in comfortably. 'Well, I guess I'm still here,' he thought slowly, his mind still shaky and weak from the alcohol he had imbibed.  
  
His legs spoke to him to rise up, to explore his new world. And so he did. Walking out of the room, he felt the quiet of the house in mid-morning. The eeriness of the house was only amplified by the lack of sound therein. He went to the kitchen and found a cheery Kasumi standing by the sink, humming a happy tune and washing the breakfast dishes.  
  
"Good morning, Kasumi," Mousse said shakily. He could feel much of the alcohol in his system staying over for another day and it frustrated him that he could not make himself seem sober. "Where is everyone?"  
  
"Oh, good morning Mousse!" Kasumi chirped. "Ranma, Akane and Nabiki have gone to school and Father has gone off to run errands. Mr. Saotome has gone to his job and it's just you and me here. Would you like some food?"  
  
"N...no, Kasumi..." Mousse breathed out, "I'm too shaky for food right now. I'd like to exercise a little in the dojo if I may..."  
  
"Certainly. I'll come down with some food for you later on." Kasumi smiled a brilliant smile at him, pointing down the hall with her slender hand. "Go to that door and work out there. I think the floor is clean but if not just blame Ranma, I guess." She turned back to the sink and hid her blushing cheeks from Mousse's rapidly sobering eyes. He turned and shrugged, walking to the sliding door.  
  
"Thank you Kasumi," he called over his shoulder as he slid open the door to the dojo and closed it. The room was cool and empty of anyone's touch. It seemed as if no one had used it in a few days, weeks even. He liked the feeling of forgotten emotions he felt as he leaned against the door for a moment. He thought about the encounter with Kasumi in the kitchen and felt and saw something strange in Kasumi's eyes. Something he had always hoped to see in Shampoo's eyes. With an oath to himself he shook off those thoughts and proceeded to the middle of the room, dropping his jacket off his shoulders as he proceeded to the middle of the room. Soon he was clad in only his pants and a sleeveless undershirt.  
  
For a moment he thought about going back to his shirt and retrieving a weapon but decided against it as he took up a position of readiness. His body began to go into the motions of the first form he had ever learned in his art, an unarmed defensive form that he had long since mastered. And yet through every motion he felt his body stiffening as though he was burdened by an unyielding weight. With every movement, Mousse could feel his entire body sweat and convulse. Slower and slower became his movements until he was moving only as fast as a novice martial artist. He could feel the trickles of sweat cascading down his back and he shuddered through the motions.  
  
Minutes passed and Mousse slogged on, improvising upon maneuvers that he had learned as a young boy. Soon he felt himself shutting down inside and knelt to his knees, his breath heavy and ragged. For a long moment, no movement came from his body as he felt the dizziness overtake him again. His body rocked and shook; the remains of the alcohol in his body swayed him from side to side like a spar in the rain. With a mutter and an oath he shakily stood and turned to the doorway. A softly crying Kasumi stood in the doorframe; her body leaned against the wood and her shoulder shaking softly. He walked to her and stood wobbly in front of the older girl.  
  
"How long have you been here?"  
  
"Long enough," Kasumi said softly as she stepped forward, bringing a towel from her hands to Mousse's chest. She pressed the cloth to the slowly moving muscles and began to wipe down to his tummy and navel. She moved with soft slow strokes, her eyes not leaving their earlier position locked on his neck and shoulders. He sighed softly as she wiped the sweat from the Chinese boy's body, his nerves and feelings very aware of the stimulation she was giving him.  
  
"Kasumi..."  
  
"Shh..." She pressed two fingers to his lips, silencing him with a touch. "Don't speak. Just let me love you."  
  
"But I don't love you..."  
  
"But you yearn for love. You yearned for it last night when you touched me. You still need it now. I can see it in your eyes," Kasumi said softly, her eyes locking on his. "And so do I."  
  
"...What are you going to do?" Mousse asked softly, his heart beating and his head spinning.  
  
"This." With that, Kasumi leaned up and kissed Mousse's lips, pressing her body against his with vigor. The boy gasped slightly as his lips touched her, the warmth of their bodies meshing and merging into something great. For a moment he hesitated, almost as if the chains bringing him down to the well of despair in his mind made one last urge forward. Then, with a great burst of energy, he kissed the girl back, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. For once, with a woman, he took the initiate and pressed the kiss forward more. Kasumi gasped and moaned as the boy's spidery fingers felt her soft back and shoulders.  
  
Mousse stopped kissing Kasumi after a long moment and picked her up into his arms. She slid herself into position in the crook of his arms and chest, cooing softly as the Chinese boy slid the door closed with his fingertips. He laid her down on the middle of the sparring mat and knelt beside her. Kasumi's face was flushed and her breathing had turned ragged. A deep blush had risen from the base of her shoulders and breastbone to the top of her neck and she seemed to glow with energy.  
  
"You've never been kissed, have you," Mousse remarked slowly, his hand touching the base of her neck softly. Kasumi nodded her head in the negative and closed her eyes for a moment.  
  
"I...I'm so ready to find someone Mousse. I'm only 20 and yet I feel so old. I feel like I'm an old woman already and I want to have a family. I'm ready to find a man who'll love me unconditionally, without all the rules and restrictions. I want this. And I want you." She opened her eyes and smiles at the boy softly.  
  
"But why me? Why now?"  
  
"Why you? Because you're committed to the ones you love. You're committed to the people who have your heart. Why now?" A pause happened. It gave him enough time to notice her face had blushed over as well as the rest of her body. "Why not?"  
  
"But I'm a young man, Kasumi...I'm not ready to start a family..." Mousse said softly, leaning back on his ankles and kneeling. "I'm barely able to think straight about my future here. I have nowhere to go, nothing else but my store here and..." His voice trailed away; he couldn't bring himself to say it again. Not as soon as it was.  
  
"...And me?" Kasumi said softly, her eyes looking shyly up to his. For a long moment, he contemplated a response in his mind and then tossed all his canned responses out of the window. He could feel his knees slide his body back to her side and his head lower to her mouth. He could feel the sweetness of her lips upon his and yet he didn't explicitly do anything to set the chain of events off. All he could do is feel and watch. And kiss.  
  
Kasumi kissed him back softly yet urgently. Her unique womanly scent, one so long repressed behind the smells of the kitchen and the home, began to waft from her body and assault Mousse's senses. It was all he could do to not touch her more and she didn't try to urge him. She knew he would succumb to him eventually and was content to softly touch him with only her lips. So many things ran in her mind as she kissed him that she let go of her feelings and just enjoyed his feather soft touch and the warmth of the room. Her body floated on a cloud of desire; it was all she could do to keep herself in the here and the now.  
  
The sun warmed the room and their bodies warmed one another. Each could feel them drawing closer to the other but not wanting to go to fast. Kasumi could see a grimace of pain on his face and stopped kissing him for a moment to push him back. "All you alright Mousse?"  
  
"Yes. My back is just a little stiff from my workout. And...And kissing like this is kind of uncomfortable."  
  
"Then lie here with me."  
  
"Are you sure no one will hurt me if I do this?"  
  
"I am sure no one will hurt you, Mousse. Everyone in the house is gone."  
  
"But what about you, Kasumi?"  
  
"What part of you can I hurt, Mousse?"  
  
"My heart. The one damn thing that I want to rebuild first." Mousse sighed and slid down onto the floor next to her. The two young people stared at one another for a moment and smiled softly. Kasumi's smile was filled with hope and wonder, Mousse's was trying vainly to hide the conflicting emotions in his heart and mind. Moments passed and nothing was said.  
  
"Mousse?" Kasumi finally said softly.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Have you wondered why I came to you like this?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you have an idea as to why?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Do you want to know why?"  
  
"Not right now." He slid a hand to his hair and wiped it out of his eyes. She did the same and their hands met for a long moment as they both looked at each other. "Eventually I want to know, but I think I already know."  
  
"I see." At that she came up to a sitting position and took his hands into hers again. "Mousse, I'm sorry I came onto you like this. I...I'm not sure what came over me. Except for..."  
  
"Except for what?"  
  
"...Except for how much I'm attracted to you." At that she stood up and hurried from the room, leaving a shocked Chinese boy laid out on the practice mat. All Mousse could do was shake his head and sigh softly to himself.  
  
-----  
  
"...So you're telling me that you'll have all the information for me tomorrow?" Nabiki said softly to the younger boy in front of her. With his head nod, she handed the first year student a small stack of yen notes. "This is the advance. The rest will come when you deliver me the goods. Now go." As the boy ran off, she tidied up her notes and made her way to the main walkway leading to the school gate. Soon she made the turn towards her home and noticed a tall, slightly sullen looking Chinese boy leaning against a light pole.  
  
"Nabiki," Mousse called out to her. "It's time to go to Ukyou's."  
  
"So soon?" She said back as she came up on the boy, noting with more then a small amount of relief, that the martial artist seemed much calmer then the night before. He had a sedated expression on his face, almost suggesting that he had gotten over his issues from the night previous.  
  
"There is no time like the present. Besides, we need to talk." Mousse said as he started out towards Ucchan's. Nabiki followed him silently and for about a block there was no speaking between them.  
  
"You wanted to talk?" Nabiki asked as they stood at a kitty corner waiting for the light to change.  
  
"Yes," Mousse said as they crossed the street. "I wanted to apologize to you before I tell you more about what I wanted to do today. I was drunk last night and I lost my sense of self for a while. I...I didn't mean to threaten you like that, Nabiki."  
  
"It's no problem," Nabiki replied glibly, "Assuming you can pull this off."  
  
"Oh it will be pulled off, trust me."  
  
"And how are you so sure about that, Mousse?"  
  
"Because you're helping me." Mousse replied to this as they came ever closer to Ucchan's. Children coming from their schools were running in the nearby playground, providing the white noise necessary for their speaking. "You wouldn't help me if you didn't think my plan had merit."  
  
"True. But your plan could just as easily fail. How will you convince her that it is in her best interests to do as you say?"  
  
"Because I'll tell her that it will allow her better access to Ranma." At that Nabiki stopped dead in her tracks and looked hard at Mousse.  
  
"Please tell me you're joking."  
  
"Not at all."  
  
"You're joking, Mousse. You're telling me, Akane's sister, that you're going to entice Ukyou Kounji, her rival, into a business agreement for nothing more then a shot at the very thing my sister wants?" Nabiki said softly, her breathing slow and heavy as she tried to comprehend the boy's words.  
  
"Exactly."  
  
"It will never happen."  
  
"And why is that?"  
  
"Because I'll never go through with it." And at that she began to walk away from Mousse but was stopped as a small rope looped around her wrist and caught, holding her in place. She looked back and saw that it came from Mousse's sleeve, a small tight grin glazing his face as he held the thread.  
  
"As I said last night, you have no choice in the matter." He gave a sharp tug on the rope and pulled her closer to him. "Now follow me to Ucchan's and I'll explain everything to you."  
  
Nabiki sighed heavily and nodded to the Chinese boy who let go of the thread and walked on to Ucchan's. Soon the pair came to the small cafe and saw that it was closed. Mousse's keen eyes (now snugly behind a pair of extra strength glasses :D) spotted a small bench directly across from the storefront and they both made their way to it. Sitting down, Nabiki took out a small notepad and began writing in it.  
  
"You want to tell me what you have planned in that head of yours?" Nabiki asked, rather irritated at the turn of events.  
  
"Sure." Mousse popped a piece of gum into his mouth and began chewing on it as he spoke. "The first part of my plan has us dangling the carrot of Ranma in front of Ukyou's eyes to get her to bite on it and do what we want. That will assure we both have a stable cash flow on hand for the second part."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
"The finalization of the Ranma and Akane relationship. Rather, the nice big push for them to stop acting like two fighting maniacs and express that they really love one another."  
  
"Keep talking..." Nabiki said, her pen now lay down and her eyes firmly locked on the front of Ucchan's.  
  
"Nabiki, it's no secret that both Ranma and Akane love one another. Or could love one another under the proper circumstances. Whatever the case may be, they're it. What I propose is a way to get them together with the least amount of issues. And to do this, money will be needed. As will a kitchen."  
  
"A kitchen? Why?"  
  
"Do you need to know everything now? Just listen to me, Nabiki." And she did.  
  
"The bottom line is that to get Ukyou out of the scene we have to give her an alternative to Ranma Saotome. And I have the alternative."  
  
"Whom?"  
  
"That boy who always works at her place. Ko..Ko-something..."  
  
"Konatsu?"  
  
"That's it!"  
  
"Konatsu and Ukyou...that's going to be a very hard sell considering she desires Ranma alone."  
  
"That's part two of the plan." Mousse asked as he looked over at Nabiki. "As she works with me and Konatsu, I'm going to help him seduce her and win her heart the old fashioned way. While, on the other hand, I'm going to take Akane under my wing and show her how to cook."  
  
"You? Showing my sister how to cook??" Nabiki laughed slightly.  
  
"You don't honestly think it was Cologne doing all the cooking while Shampoo was off trying to make Ranma her husband, do you?" Mousse answered looking dead at Nabiki with a wide smile and a sharp glint in his eyes. "I've more skills and more patience then you'll ever know, Nabiki."  
  
"We'll see." She adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder and sighed a little. "So let me get this straight: You want to take over part of Ucchan's, sell your restaurant and use the money to build this one. All in a plan to play matchmaker for two relationships that do not exist right now?"  
  
"Well, there are 2 other things in this."  
  
"What other things?"  
  
"For starters, the money you make will be enough to assure me a fair bid with your father concerning Kasumi...if things go the way I think they're going to go," Mousse said with a slight blush, "And then it will also be for me for when I want to sell out my half of the business to you to start my own school of martial arts later on."  
  
"You know, you're really trying to build an empire here," she said softly after a moment's reflection.  
  
"All I can do is try to improve the world I live in now that Shampoo has left my life. And if you can meddle in people's lives, so can I. Like I said, you took the time to intertwine yourself into my life so now I'm going to make sure we're tied to the hip until I say otherwise." They both fell silent for a long moment.  
  
"Well I guess we can try it, but I make no promises." Nabiki said, a slight bit of cautious optimism permeating her voice. Mousse nodded slowly as they watched Ukyou come up to the front door of her shop, a slightly underfoot Konatsu just behind her.  
  
"That's all I ask from you, Nabiki."  
  
"Then before we go to Ukyou with this crazy scheme, can you answer me this one thing?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"How are you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I mean what I say. How are you doing?"  
  
"I...I'm ok. For today, I'm ok. It still hurts inside to be alone..." Mousse said softly as he began walking towards the cafe, "But I'm determined not to let this get me down." Nabiki secretly smiled as she trailed behind Mousse on their way back across the street to talk to Ukyou. 


	3. Plans Unfurled, Desires Confessed

"Well I see you definitely told Ranma off, Ukyou..." Konatsu said softly, slightly resigned as he put his dining room uniform on. Both he and Ukyou had just come into Ucchan's and were dressing in the anteroom of the restaurant.  
  
"I don't want to hear about it, Konatsu." Ukyou felt her body adjust to the unique situation of being home. Her hands worked quickly as she gathered up her working garb and began to undress. "I will have Ranma go out with me sooner or later."  
  
"Ukyou-sama..."  
  
"Don't you Ukyou-sama me, Konatsu," the spatula girl said softly, her back still turned to the young man. "I don't want to talk to you. I'm still not happy with you for what you did to me last week. Now go get the dining room ready."  
  
Konatsu bowed his head a little and shuffled out, his girlish working uniform slumping on his body. His eyes looked up in shock as he stepped into the dining room. "We're not open for a little while, Nabiki."  
  
"We know that, Konatsu." Mousse said. His hands clutched at the manila folder, Nabiki Tendo standing just off to his right hand side. "But we both need to talk to Ukyou before things become busy."  
  
"Well, she will be out to open the register in a few moments. So take a seat and I'll let her know you're here." With that, he bowed a little and slid over to his workstation. His hands worked swiftly as he prepared the materials for the dinner rush. Nabiki and Mousse both shrugged and took seats close to the grill. Soon the countertop was littered with papers, pens, and notes as both young people setup their pitch.  
  
The sunlight shone into the restaurant through the large open window, it's beams being cast along the tables and chairs. Konatsu sighed softly as he wiped down the chairs and tables with a wet rag. His mind swam with the arguments from the days pervious. His hands trembled slightly as he tried to block the pain in his heart out from his working life. Soon he looked over to the tables that were left and sighed even more, his enthusiasm sapped even further from his body. The tight womanly garb he wore chafed slightly at his skin as he finished his cleaning and disappeared to the back. "I'll tell Ukyou that you're both here," he called out as he disappeared through the kitchen door.  
  
A few moments passed and then Ukyou emerged from the kitchen with a bag in her hand. "Hello, you two," she said genially as she opened her register and placed the money in. "Konatsu says you have something to talk to me about?"  
  
"Yes. We have a business proposition for you, Ukyou." Nabiki's voice was more upbeat then usual as she began speaking. "We want to enter into a business partnership with you."  
  
"You? And Him? With me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Sorry. I'm not interested." With that Ukyou turned to her grill to start scrubbing it down. But all of a sudden as she grabbed her brush, it was knocked out of her hand by a small staff extended from Mousse's hand. She turned around and looked sharply at the boy who smiled broadly at her, the staff now lying on the countertop. "Don't you both take no for an answer?"  
  
"She may take it, but I certainly don't. Not now. It would be very beneficial for you to listen to what I have to say, Ukyou." Mousse felt the control in his heart and body grow with every movement he made and every word he spoke. "We'll only take 5 minutes."  
  
"...One moment." With that she reached underneath the countertop and pulled up an egg timer. Setting it on the Formica, she set it for 5 minutes and looked at Mousse's calm, relaxed face. "You have 5 minutes. Talk."  
  
"I'll start by asking you a question. Do you get tired of not having any income for the morning and early afternoon?" Mousse asked as he slid his fingers along the cane softly.  
  
"I'll admit that it has been bothering me. The dinner rushes aren't enough to keep me afloat, as I would like. But what does that have to do with both of you?" Ukyou replied slowly.  
  
"I want to go into a joint business with you. I'll work all morning and until you come home from school and you'll work the afternoon and evening rushes. We'll make money by doing what we need to do. You'll be able to finish school and work, as will I. And we'll make enough money to support us both. With my recipes and your skill, we could make a killing."  
  
"You can cook," Ukyou, asked Mousse, a look of shock on her face.  
  
"Do you honestly think shampoo was doing all the cooking at the Nekohanten? Do you honestly think Cologne could stand all those hours in front of a stove without a break? I cooked close to 40 hours out of a 70-hour workweek because of those two's issues. I was taught to cook by my mother and Cologne. I know what I'm doing."  
  
"But why do you think your food will work in my restaurant?"  
  
"Why would it not?" Nabiki chimed in, her own voice gaining confidence as she saw Ukyou's resistance fading fast. "We all know Ranma loved to mix your Okonomiyaki with the ramen from the Nekohanten. Why would you think any other people in this city would be any different?"  
  
"Don't remind me of Shampoo please," Ukyou said softly, her cheeks reddening slightly.  
  
"Well you're going to be reminded of her if we work together, Ukyou. So you'll just have to deal with it. She's gone and I have the deed to the Nekohanten but I cannot do it all myself. I figured we'd use the money from the sale of the Nekohanten to fund a joint project here, renovate and enlarge this place to fit more people and actually put a place together that can make us some money. Plus," the Chinese boy added with a smile, "There are the added benefits for you..."  
  
"Which are?"  
  
"Principally, you'll have more time out to be able to take care of and be a friend to Ranma. I mean, we all know that akane's not doing a good job of it, so this will open the door for you to snatch him up." Nabiki flinched inwardly as she heard Mousse's words against her sister but she kept her poker faced smile on her lips. Her control shocked even herself as she listened in with Mousse. "With the lessened stress of the morning off your shoulders, you can concentrate on winning that boy over."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," Ukyou replied coyly, her cheeks reddening even more.  
  
"Sure you do, Ukyou." Nabiki leaned forward and looked in the cook's eyes, her own eyes burning with the acknowledgement of the advantage she now held over the girl, her contemporary. "It's why you asked me for so much information about him. It's why you wanted pictures of him. It's why..."  
  
A spatula slapped down on the countertop. Ukyou felt her anger and frustration boiling over slightly as she heard Nabiki's hateful words. "Please. Stop. Now." A long moment passed as the cook shook with emotion and frustration. "How I feel about Ranma is none of your business."  
  
"Ok. I'll buy that. For now." Mousse touched Ukyou's hand with his fingertips and pressed softly on the veins just beneath the surface of her skin. "But the fact still remains that you need someone who can help you make more money for the place. I need more money and you need more money. That's the bottom line. I'm offering a solution for both of us to make it here, seeing as there is no reason for us now to be in competition."  
  
"But I never was in competition with you, Mousse."  
  
"I worked with Shampoo, did I not? I worked for Cologne and Cologne wanted nothing to do with you having a shot at Ranma. So you were in competition with the two people I worked for."  
  
"Maybe so."  
  
"Right. But now that they're both gone, I need to at least be civil with everyone here. My dream is gone back to China and I don't have a home now. I can't afford to be petty anymore." He smiled inwardly as he saw the double meaning in his statements. How much the better that the hook he was dangling in front of Ukyou was something he had to deal with anyway.  
  
"I don't know," Ukyou said softly. "Where does Nabiki fit in all this?"  
  
"I'll be doing the financials for both of you. I'll be handling the money for the restaurant, leaving both of you able to concentrate on what you do best. I'll make sure plenty of good press comes out for your place and that you at least have a fair shot with the very ugly media. In short, I'll be your biggest cheerleader." Nabiki folded her hands and kept her patient, calm poker face throughout her spiel.  
  
"Well being a cheerleader isn't like you, Nabiki. So right away I don't buy that statement."  
  
"Maybe cheerleader wasn't the best of terms for me to use. But I will be a champion for this place. Ukyou, I need money as well. Ranma and Akane are destroying my house wholesale and I still have a father and two sisters to keep housed. The way I see it, Mousse is right. We all have talents we could use to make our situations that much better. We could all grab a piece of the pie instead of fighting for the crumbs from the crust."  
  
For a long moment, Ukyou didn't speak. Nabiki and Mousse followed her lead and waited. A clock on the wall ticked softly as the minutes passed. The egg timer showed less then a minute remained in their conference. "I'll tell you what. I have to open the shop and begin my workday. Leave your information with me and I'll think on it. Tomorrow afternoon I'll tell you my decision. Come here at the same time and we'll talk." Ukyou held out her hands in resignation, her emotions beginning to get the best of her.  
  
"Fair enough," Nabiki said as she began to put her papers in order. Mousse followed suit and in a moment both were standing and looking at the cook at her register. "We'll leave this with you so you can make a decision." she dropped another folder beside the register, which Ukyou promptly snatched up and slid under the countertop. At that, both youth left and walked out the door, leaving a slightly shaken Ukyou alone with her feelings. She could barely hear Konatsu behind her as her hands went on their own accord. Her unconscious mind centered on the tasks as hand but her conscious mind rattled with the thoughts of the encounter. She was shook, well and truly.  
  
-----  
  
"You know I should slap you for what you said about my sister, Mousse," Nabiki said softly as they stood outside the restaurant, a kiddie corner between their destinations. The subway station seemed to exude a certain heat and tension as they walked towards it. "I may think she has less on the ball then other but she's still my family. I don't want you badmouthing her."  
  
"You think I liked talking about her like I did?" Mousse replied as he walked down the stairs into the station. They both made their way to the platform and waited on the train. "You know that was all about selling her on the idea. I don't think Akane's done a bad job with Ranma, considering the strange events that seemed to come up for the both of them."  
  
"Let's not talk about it now. Let's go back to your house and talk. I want you to come over for dinner tonight so we can talk more." With Nabiki pressed herself against the window glass of the car. Mousse slid in next to her as the car began to fill up with people. The train lurched forward and picked up speed as it roared down the line. Mousse felt Nabiki's arm slide around his waist and hold on tight, her head resting against his shoulder slightly. He looked down and saw the incredible confidence that normally permeated her face has drained away. Instead of a confident, forward moving young woman beside him, all that clutched at him was a frightened looking girl.  
  
He slid an arm around her body and silently held her close till the 4th stop on the line. Nabiki shook her body away from him and stepped out, the Chinese boy close behind him. The emerged onto the sidewalk above and began walking, Nabiki leading the way. Soon the Nekohanten showed up in front of them as they walked and Mousse opened up the store. They went in and looked around. No one had come in or done anything and the entire place felt defeated. A lack of energy or joy was evident throughout the restaurant. Mousse sighed softly as he went to the stairwell.  
  
"I miss her, Nabiki."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I just said that I miss her." Mousse climbed up the stairs and disappeared into the upper level of the building. Nabiki merely stood and waited, her hands idly playing with themselves as her eyes scanned the now darkened walls. Soon Mousse came back with a small bag on his shoulder. He slid over to a large booth facing the main window and sat down. Nabiki followed him and sat beside him. For a moment they didn't speak.  
  
"You miss Shampoo?" Nabiki asked, as if the conversation had never stopped.  
  
"Yes. I miss her terribly. I'm trying to stuff it all down with work and making my life better but whenever things stop for a moment I still have to deal with the feelings inside my heart." A sigh, a pause and a moan escaped from Mousse's lips. He sank lower into the seat, his whole body losing it's confidant posture. "I thought it would be easier to go on. I thought it would be easier to make a clean start. But I miss her so badly."  
  
"Even as she cuckolded you, Mousse?"  
  
"Even as. And for the record, I don't think she cuckolded me. That would have to assume she gave a shit about me. And I don't think she did."  
  
"You want to know what I think? I think she liked you more then you would ever let her."  
  
"How so?" His eyes turned to her and they stared at one another. Their hearts seemed to slow down with their words and time seemed to blend into something less then normal.  
  
"You obsessed over her, Mousse. You chased her away because you never let her get over her obligation to Ranma. She told me that she had grown to become attracted to you when you finally did stop chasing her everywhere but by then Cologne needed her elsewhere. You did this to yourself." Nabiki sighed and looked down at the tabletop.  
  
"And you found that it was your business to play god. Typical. But yes, you're right. It was my fault. I could have played the waiting game from the get go and not make a play for her but I could have lost her. I had to take that risk. The ends justified the means, or so I thought." Mousse rubbed his eyes a little and sighed softly. "But I never knew how much she cared."  
  
"No one did. Except for she and Cologne. And now me, I guess." The middle Tendou daughter laughed a little as her face scrunched into something between a frown and a grimace. Her body shook slightly as she spoke when the sad laughter died down. "I...I didn't want to do this to you, Mousse. But I had another reason for doing what I did."  
  
"And that is?"  
  
"Kasumi. She's attracted to you."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Do you know how long my sister has been attracted to you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"She's been attracted to you since the first time you came to challenge Ranma at our house. She saw you from the kitchen window and never let your memory go." Nabiki's shoulder rose slightly as she took a deep breath. "She's getting older. As am I. We're both beginning to want to find someone to have. And she wanted you. She wants you."  
  
"Does anyone here still realize that I'm still madly in love with Shampoo? Does anyone care that my life with Shampoo, my dream for so many years, is gone? Do you or your sister care that it might be years before I'm able to ever think about another?" Mousse asked sharply, his own emotions beginning to get the best of him.  
  
"Yes. To all of those points, yes we do care."  
  
"You have a funny way of showing it." At that Nabiki turned her face away to hide the painful blush coming to her cheeks. A tear flowed from her cheek as she tried to keep it all in check.  
  
"You know what, you're right. You're not ready to love anyone because you're too selfish to love anything but your own damn dreams." Nabiki spat out bitterly as she turned to rise up and leave. Mousse slid over and gripped her wrist, keeping her there and keeping her in focus on him.  
  
"That's not true, Nabiki."  
  
"It's not? You sure have a funny way of showing it."  
  
"Just because I'm heartbroken and trying like hell to deal with this with dignity doesn't mean I'm being selfish. I'm not going to let people see my pain and I'm not going to lie to anyone anymore. Especially not someone as beautiful as Kasumi."  
  
"You mean," Nabiki, said softly, "You mean that you are attracted to her?"  
  
"Why would I not be? She's like my mother. She's caring, soft and yet she holds things together with an incredible grace. She held me when I was low, kissed me when I was hurting..."  
  
"She kissed you?"  
  
"Err, um..."  
  
"Mousse, don't try to lie to me. You know I have ways of finding out what I want to know." At that Nabiki turned back to him and smiled a tear stained smile. He saw the joking tone in her voice and pulled her closer to him. She slid closer and they embraced for a long moment.  
  
"I was training this morning and she kissed me as she was toweling me down. We talked. She told me that she wanted me, in not so many words." Mousse flipped the hair out of his eyes and Nabiki's nose and face as the middle Tendo buried her face into his tunic. For a moment, they remained silent and reflective, the sunlight framing their bodies in the pale, warm glow.  
  
"Mousse, can I level with you?"  
  
"Shoot." Nabiki pulled back from the boy and looked into his eyes.  
  
"I need you to help me. I'm...I need you to help me get someone."  
  
"Get someone?"  
  
"Yes." At those words, she lowered her head and dropped her eyes in shame. Mousse strained to hear her next words as she spoke. "Since you're going to become a partner with me one way or another, I need to have the one person I desire come to me. I need you to help me get one man."  
  
"You? You actually love someone?" The words escaped Mousse's mouth before he even knew what had happened and he was rewarded by a tortured look in Nabiki's eyes. Instantly he tried to speak but her hand covered his mouth, cutting him off.  
  
"I've had a crush on him for as long as I can remember. But when my mother died, I had to take up the family finances as a way to help us all survive. And...And I guess it was a way for me to deal with the loneliness I feel inside. I miss my mother as well, Mousse. And this person began to change as my mother left. His mother left him as well and from that point on, he wasn't the same. I've wanted him so long now that I'm almost afraid to still be around him because one of these days I'm going to explode and rip him apart."  
  
"Who is he, Nabiki?"  
  
"Tatewaki Kuno."  
  
"...Forgive me for saying this, but damn. I never knew..."  
  
"No one does. No one knows how much I desire to be with him, bad prose and all. He's the only man I've ever known who knows how to be romantic to a woman. Other then you, of course." She smiled sadly at him and was rewarded by a small hug. "He does it all wrong but at least he has the concept. He's the only one who tries to be a gentleman in our school. And he's the only one I know that used to like me as a friend. Now that I've become the ice queen extortionist, I get so lonely sometimes. I..." Her voice trailed off and Mousse didn't try to pick up the conversation. So they sat. And sat. And sat.  
  
"You know what the worst part about all this is?"  
  
"Hmm?" Mousse answered, his voice emerging from the fog of thoughts now clogging the narrow spaces in his brain.  
  
"I had to manipulate someone just to get them to sit down and talk to me about this stuff I've been keeping inside. I can't make a friend if someone paid me." At that, she began to laugh again but Mousse didn't. He merely held her close and waited till she was done.  
  
"Nabiki, I might be mad at you for sending Shampoo away but that doesn't mean I wouldn't have listened to you. I'm not a tyrant. And you're not an ice queen. We both just try to take on too much. We've both grown up so fast that it's made us both very bitter, I think." Mousse smiled a little as he spoke and Nabiki warmed to his words.  
  
"I know. I just think I need to have a friend. And since you're the only person who'd do this, you mind taking that role?"  
  
"Do I have a choice?"  
  
"Nope." At that Nabiki clamped her arms down on his ribs and he sighed good-naturedly, hugging the girl back.  
  
"Then I guess I'll have to be your friend." Mousse nodded softly and pushed Nabiki back softly. "I think we should go. If we stay here any longer we're going to both need psychiatric counseling." The girl nodded and they both stood up to go, confident in the knowledge that better days were coming. Mousse locked up the shop and they walked off into the distance towards the Tendo home. 


	4. Every End, Another Beginning

Kasumi hummed a soft happy tune as she laid out dinner on the table. The house glowed with the eagerness of the new evening. She blushed a little as she remembered Mousse's lips on her and the time they both spent as she straightened a place setting. She had never felt so alive before, so fresh, and so clean. All her raw desires seemed to come out in one large sunburst and she couldn't believe that he had actually reciprocated those feelings back to her.  
  
With a final look at the table, she sat down and waited for the rest of her family to show up for dinner. The thoughts of the day rang in her mind softly as she watched her father and Ranma's father step in and take their seats. Both men were idly discussing their next plan to bring Ranma and Akane together and with a flourish they began to eat. Kasumi could only smile as she watched the men eat and talk. She liked being a homemaker. She loved the life of a housemother.  
  
Suddenly she heard and saw the door open out of the corner of her eye. In walked Nabiki and Mousse, both looking calm but a little worse for wear as they both took seats at the table. After the perfunctory greetings to all at the table, the group began really eating in earnest. "Does anyone know where Ranma and Akane are?" Kasumi asked lightly.  
  
"I'm not sure, Kasumi. That boy of mine said he was going to go walking alone but I'm not sure where he is now," Genma said as he slurped down his soup.  
  
"Do you think Akane and Ranma are together, Genma?" Soun Tendo asked his old friend as he reached for his cup of tea.  
  
"I'd doubt it, Daddy," Nabiki answered glibly. Her normally pale, controlled face was back as she smiled over to the two older men. They both grunted a reply and went back to their food. "Kasumi, I think Ranma was going over to the park. At least that's where I saw him going when I left school for the day."  
  
"Well, we'll keep their food here until they come in. I'm sure they'll be here sooner or later." Kasumi looked shyly over at Mousse and smiled at the Chinese boy who was idly playing with his food. When he saw Kasumi's smile, he sheepishly grinned and began slurping down some of the soup. He was still very shy about looking at Kasumi, as the remnants of their coupling still remained fresh on his mind. "Mousse, are you going to stay here tonight?"  
  
"Well, um, I hadn't exactly planned on it. I need to do some things at the Nekohanten but I'll not do them until later on this evening," he said, a white lie permeating over the entire statement. He knew she had seen his overnight bag in his hand when he came in and only hoped she wouldn't bring up the subject of his staying the night up with anyone before he had a chance to talk to her. "Nabiki and I have to do some things before I can leave though. Can I talk to you later on when we're done?"  
  
"Absolutely."  
  
"So Mousse, how have things been for the new owner of the Nekohanten," Soun asked, an oily yet fatherly smile on his lips. Mousse inwardly blanched as he quickly thought about the best way to handle this little lump of joy. Danger, Will Robinson...  
  
"They've been interesting. I've learned more about Japanese business law then I ever thought I would need to."  
  
"And I'm the one who taught him," Nabiki said smugly, her hand squeezing Mousse's wrist slightly.  
  
"Good. Well I wish you all the success in the world. You're no longer our rival since Cologne left, so now we can all be friends at this table." Soun extended a hand to Mousse, genially offering a truce to the boy. The Chinese male shook it and a tense moment passed over the entire room. For a long moment, no one spoke as the meals were being finished. Then the wall exploded.  
  
"Ranma! You jerk!!!!" came the cry from outside as a shaken and rather broken wall came down more. The hole seemed to expand as Ranma scrambled from the rubble and ran to the other side of the room. "Uncute tomboy!!" he yelled back as he tossed the first thing he could get his hands on at the rapidly charging girl. In this case it was the remaining pot of soup that was now lukewarm and slightly concentrated. It hit Akane in full stride, splashing all over her and her mallet. With an Amazonian scream and a Ruthian swing, she planted the mallet into the center of the table.  
  
"Help me! NOOO!! Stupid girl!!!" Ranma screamed as he charged down to the dojo, a fire breathing Akane on his heels, screaming expletives entirely too severe for their argument. For a long moment, everyone at the table merely sat in silent shock at the destruction around them. Between the broken table, the large hole in the wall and the destroyed remnants of the two-thirds eaten dinner, Ranma and Akane had effectively ended dinner in less then 45 seconds. A sudden, even louder crash rang out a moment later from the destruction of the dojo. And then, total silence reigned over the house.  
  
"Well. I guess they've both taken care of their dinner," Kasumi said brightly, her normally cheerful face drooping despite all her efforts to stay buoyant in defeat. A slender Chinese hand grasping hers caused her to look over and see the concerned face of Mousse looking back at her. Both Soun and Genma noticed this gesture and looked at it with a bit of wonder.  
  
"Kasumi, I'm going to make this promise to you right now. I will never let this happen again to something you've done. I promise." Mousse held a stoic look on his face as he said the meaningful words.  
  
"And how do you propose you're going to do that, Mousse?" Genma asked lightly, his own eyebrows furrowing slightly on his forehead.  
  
"Listen and you'll understand."  
  
-----  
  
"We're all done, Ukyou," Konatsu said tiredly as he slumped into a seat near the cash register. The entire evening shift had passed over and both young people had worked extremely hard. Konatsu could feel the weary tiredness flow over him like a flood and he knew that this had been a profitable night for Ukyou. And that, to him, was all that mattered. "The entire front of the house is ready for tomorrow."  
  
Ukyou nodded and grunted a reply as she finished her last line of figures in her big book. With a flourish she took the register of money to the back, emerging a few minutes later with a bottle of sake and two glasses. She stepped to the register and withdrew the envelope from underneath it. "Come and sit with me. We need to talk," she said softly as she walked to a booth. He followed her and they sat opposite one another in the large booth. Drinks were poured by Konatsu's shaky hand as Ukyou opened the envelope and began to read. A long moment passed before she even took a drink while Konatsu's glass was nearly empty.  
  
"Konatsu, I was offered a partnership for this place," she said after a long hit of the potent liquor.  
  
"Oh?" Konatsu lazily replied.  
  
"Yes. Nabiki and Mousse offered me this. Apparently Mousse has been left the Nekohanten and he cannot handle the entire restaurant by himself. He wants to sell the place and use the money he receives to open us up full time. He'll work in the mornings, we'll continue to take the evenings." Another drink and a slight grimace as the potent drink hit her stomach. "Nabiki will be doing both our financial reports and our publicity, if I take this offer."  
  
"And you want to take this offer?"  
  
"What choice do I have? Konatsu, you know that I'm only one bad week away from not having a place anymore. I'm not making enough from just dinner. I need to expand. There are people here who want my food all the time and I need to bring it to them to survive."  
  
"And yet if you did, it won't be your place anymore. It won't be 'Ucchan's'," Konatsu parried. His hand shook as he held his glass in his hand.  
  
"What makes you think that it wouldn't?"  
  
"What makes you think that some place like the Nekohanten, where Mousse did more of the cooking then people think, would just fade off into obscurity? He'll carry the history and the style and the recipes of that place forward through here. And I don't want that. Not from what you've built. I play second fiddle to you and you alone, Ukyou-sama..." Ukyou blushed as she heard the boy's surprisingly strident words. She knew he was crazy for her and yet all she felt for him was an occasional passing friendship through her heart. And there was still that little issue between them...  
  
"I told you not to call me that, Konatsu. And as for you playing second fiddle to me, I don't really care about that. Truthfully, I'd like it if you left your love for me behind so that all I'd have is a good worker to help me." Ukyou's face turned while she spoke, showing off the lines of her face the stress helped create. Konatsu maintained a stoic face as best as possible as he poured himself another drink. "I'm still angry at you for what you did to me. What right did you have to interfere with my trying to get Ranma on a date? What right did you have?"  
  
"I didn't have the right, ok?" Konatsu said angrily, "And neither did you. You saw and heard Akane say she was going to cook for him that night! You saw it with your own eyes! As did I! What gave you the right to come behind her and soft soap him? Who said you had to comfort him when he doesn't come to you?"  
  
"That right was given to me when his ass of a father decided to sell us off to get a free ride. I can't go back to my father without a husband and I can't stop loving or wanting him. So don't you tell me what my rights are. I have more of a right to do what I can to get him then you do to get me. And I don't want you. Not like that." Ukyou looked back to the bottle and poured herself another large drink. "The bottom line is, if I take this opportunity I'll be able to have more time to go after Ranma and make him mine. And I'll have more money to stay open and survive here. I'll be able to pay you more for what you do here. It's not a hard decision."  
  
"So you're going to do it." Konatsu's words were hardly a question but a statement of the obvious.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"...Then I want my hourly wage increased by half. And I want all the tips I earn for myself alone." Konatsu said softly.  
  
"That's fine." With that, the boy's eyes popped up. "Considering I'm not paying you a tremendous amount, that's ok."  
  
"Then do what you want. I'm leaving for home but I'll be at the usual place at 2.30 tomorrow. Goodnight." Konatsu got up from the table and walked to the door. His leaving caused Ukyou to sigh and shake off the sad feelings that conversation had caused. But it was true; this was her only option and she wanted Ranma more then anything else in the world. She poured another drink and sipped it, considering just how her life was going to change now that she was teaming up with a man who had previously been aligned with one of her chief rivals.  
  
-----  
  
"There. That's the last part of it," Mousse said as the last temporary board was nailed into the wall. He turned to the doorway to the kitchen and wiped some stray sweat from his brow. "The table is gone, the wall has been patched and the food has been cleaned up. I guess there is nothing else to do."  
  
"Thank you so much, Mousse," Kasumi said softly as she came into the room from the kitchen, her apron now off and her beautiful body taking up space in the room. Mousse couldn't help but look at her a second or too longer then necessary. She was so beautiful! "I never knew you knew so much about carpentry and construction."  
  
"I don't. I really just learned the basics because of Shampoo. She used to break walls at the Nekohanten all the time." At the mention of her name Mousse sobered as his mind flashed back to a time when things were less up in the air. "Um, Kasumi?"  
  
"Yes, Mousse?"  
  
"Do you mind if I stay here tonight? I really can't go back to the Nekohanten tonight. There...there are too many bad memories there right now..."  
  
"Of course. I can understand why you wouldn't want to go back there." Kasumi smiled brightly and stepped over to Mousse's side. "Though, there is the little issue of the vomit on the side of your bed."  
  
"What vomit?" Mousse asked obliquely then stiffened as he remembered his vomiting spell from that morning. "Oh Kasumi, I'm so sorry about that. I completely forgot about me throwing up..."  
  
"It's alright Mousse. I cleaned it up. Remember, I was rather unmindful of it as well." At that, both young people exchanged shy smiled and a blush between them. "Though...there is one thing you could do for me..."  
  
"And that is?"  
  
"You could sit with me on the porch and talk with me. That would make up for me having to clean up your vomit." A smile permeated her face as she said the words and she was rewarded by a nod and a smile. They proceeded to the porch and sat on the steps to the house. For a while they merely looked up into the night sky and watched the panorama of the evening go by them. Kasumi slid her hand over and touched Mousse's hand. He noticed this and looked over to her with a bit of concern in his large eyes.  
  
"Kasumi, we need to talk." He scooted closer to her and took her hands in his. She merely nodded and waited for his next words. "Kasumi, you know I can't be with you right now. I...I still want Shampoo with all my heart. What we did today was...was..."  
  
"Wrong? A Mistake?" Kasumi offered quietly, her eyes already beginning to mist over a little as her worst fears were being realized.  
  
"No. It was too soon. Far too soon." Mousse sighed and looked off onto the ground by the koi pond. "Kasumi it's only been three days since Shampoo left. I'm not able to throw away nearly a decade of loving someone in 3 days. There's no conceivable way."  
  
"So you do still love her..."  
  
"I desired her. I wanted her. For me to say I loved her would be stupid because I didn't do what someone who loved someone else would do. I obsessed over her. I nearly ruined her life a bunch of times. I desired her but she didn't desire me the same way. How can I say I loved her?"  
  
"You loved her because you wanted the best for her. Be honest, if Ranma ever did marry Shampoo, would you have given them you're blessing and backed off?" Kasumi asked lightly.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then you did love her. Most of the other people here wouldn't do that. You know that."  
  
"Ok, so maybe I did love her. But I can't love anyone else right now..."  
  
"Even me?" Her eyes met his and he sighed heavily. Mousse hated, more then anything, to be put on the spot.  
  
"Kasumi, I'd have to be a blind man not to see how beautiful and wonderful you are. I'd have to be an idiot not to see that. But I'm not ready to do anything with anyone else right now. I...I know that I'm not over Shampoo. I know this. I know that one morning I'm going to wake up and cry my eyes out for four hours over this woman. I know for a long time I'm going to either be depressed and neurotic or angry and fragile because of her. Do you want that in a man?"  
  
"I want you, Mousse. Whatever happens we can work it out. I...I just don't want to lose you, Mousse." Kasumi sighed as all her raw emotions came out once again.  
  
"You won't lose me. Not if this all works out. Especially me training Akane."  
  
"Do you honestly think your plan will work, Mousse? I've tried to teach Akane to cook before and yet she just can't do it. She's so impatient in trying to make Ranma happy..." Kasumi sighed as she remembered all the disasters that seemed to happen whenever Akane seemed to even come close to a kitchen.  
  
"I can do it because I had to learn. The amazons taught me so much more then people realize. I'm not going to back down from her in teaching her because they didn't back down to me."  
  
"But do you think that she'll even accept your offer?"  
  
"When I dangle the Ranma carrot in front of her eyes she will. Trust me on this." Mousse smiled grimly and sighed a little. "Kasumi I like you. I think you're going to make some guy a really grateful man. And I'd like to be that guy. I've thought about this a lot over the time we were apart. And I do want to make you happy. But I can't give you what you want right now. Not with me on the rebound."  
  
"Then be my friend. Be my friend and we'll see what happens on the other side." Kasumi snuggled closer to the boy and rested her head on his shoulder. Mousse slid an arm around her waist and sighed contentedly. Things could have been worse for the Chinese boy but for now he was content.  
  
-----  
  
"So you've come to a decision," Mousse asked Ukyou the next day. He and Nabiki sat on the same side of the booth Ukyou already sat in, directly opposite them. The spatula chef seemed almost content as she spoke.  
  
"Yes. I will accept your offer to merge our restaurants into one joint place. On two conditions."  
  
"And they are?" Nabiki asked.  
  
"We pay Konatsu directly out of the split of the money. And other help will be paid through our working expenses."  
  
"That's acceptable."  
  
"And two, that when I need some time off to go and try to win Ranma, the slack shall be picked up by you, Mousse." Ukyou looked directly at the Chinese boy and smiled a little. "You were absolutely right when you said that this would help me win Ranma, but I want to win him when I can. I will work the evening shift with Konatsu and you'll work in the mornings like we agreed."  
  
"That will work only if when I need a bit of time off, you'll pull up the slack just as much," Mousse replied genially.  
  
Ukyou's nod signaled that the deal was now set. Nabiki extended a hand to the girl and they both shook. Mousse did the same and with that gesture the partnership was made. "We'll bring over the paperwork for you to sign in a few days, Ukyou. We need to leave now to get the Nekohanten sold. When we're ready we'll hammer out how we want to put this all together."  
  
"That's fine. Would you like to come over this evening after work for a celebration dinner? I've got some new ideas I'd like to show both of you..." Ukyou said with a broad smile on her face.  
  
"That would be very nice, Ukyou. We'll be here just before you close tonight. Take care for now." Both Mousse and Nabiki rose and walked to the door as Mousse said their goodbyes. Once outside, Mousse sighed a little and looked at Nabiki as they waited for a cab. "You know that this now changes everything."  
  
"Of course it does. But now we're finally becoming the masters of this disaster. Would you have it any other way?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Then smile. We're on the tip of a gold mine here." She smiled at the boy and hugged him tight as their cab showed up. He hugged back and opened the door for her. They both stepped in and the car sped off to a certain realtor in the area. A fresh breeze blew across the Nerima skyline as they rocketed downtown. It smelled of change. 


End file.
